Ultrasound Pregnancy Scan at 4 Months

When we wake up in the morning, boyfriend is very excited that we’ll finally know the sex of the baby. I, on the other hand, just want assurance that the baby is there and alright; after the morning sickness and before the kicks begin, I tend to forget and at times even doubt that there’s even a baby in there. Our girl is just happy that she gets to spend the whole day with mom and dad.

The antenatal clinic goes well. My PH is a high of 8. This is not good, it should be 7. I’m told to drink more water. ‘Does porridge count,’ I ask. ‘No. Ensure you take 3 liters of water daily. Not counting the many cups of tea, milk and definitely not the porridge.’ Three liters sounds a bit too much but before I can tell her this, the lady tells me a horrifying story of how my urine will start forming tiny stones and how painful it is to pass these stones, and how I’ll go back there complaining of excruciating pain in my tummy. By the time she’s done, I want to ask her whether 5 liters a day would still be fine.

Everything else is fine and I’m especially happy with my weight. At 17 weeks, I should have added between 2 and 4 kilograms considering my weight before pregnancy. I started at 55 and I’m now 57Kgs. If I continue at this pace, I will not add as many pounds as I did with my last pregnancy. Let’s just hope that my discipline will be dependable.

Things get a little interesting at the radiologist’s. I’m lying on my back on a very uncomfortable bed. I get a little relief from folding my legs. The radiologist tells me I’ll have to keep them straight for the ultrasound scan. ‘It will not take that long,’ he assures me.

He applies the gel and the images come live on the screen. Boyfriend is standing behind the radiologist while holding our girl in his arms. When I see the feet and the heart and then the head, I turn to my daughter and ask her whether she can see the baby. She does and she does not like it. She looks away, burying her face in her daddy’s neck. For the remainder of the scan, she steals glances at the screen every few minutes and then hides her face. He shows us the hands and tells us to count the fingers. Next is the heart and he measures the heartbeat.

He then shows us the face. The eyes, nose and then the mouth. I ask him whether he can tell who the baby looks like. My first one looks just like her dad and it would be a little unfair if the second one did as well. He says it’s impossible to tell. That even with the 3D scans, you can never be sure. I don’t believe him. I have a feeling that I just cornered him into an awkward position and he does not want to disappoint either of us. I can clearly see that the baby has my small nose. No? Shut up! You weren’t even there!

‘Can you tell the sex of the baby,’ I ask. ‘It is still too early to tell for sure, but if I were told that this is a contest and I would win money if I guessed right, I’d definitely give an answer,’ he says. ‘If you look here, you can see the bladder. This is the baby’s urine. And now here are the thighs. You’ll notice that you can’t quite see what is in between.’ He again reminds me that if money was at stake, he would have an answer from the features he can see at the moment. The way he says it, I can tell that he wants me to ask. ‘And what would you say?’ I continue to which he answers, ‘I would say it is a girl!’

If the radiologist was right, my instincts would be right for the second time. I had a strong feeling that it would be a girl. It was therefore not such a surprise for me. What surprised me from the scan was that the pregnancy could be in fact be 6 days older than we thought.

When we’re done, I can tell that my daughter is not happy. This is confirmed when I ask her whether she’d like me to hold her and she agrees. She rarely lets me hold her these days. I’m glad I brought her. She needs to get used to the idea of sharing attention with someone else. And being the strong girl I know she is, she will be fine.

Boyfriend surprises me with his flexibility. He was so sure it was a boy and I’m blown away by how first he warms up to the idea of having another girl. All he’s been talking about since are baby girl’s names!!!